History
Kitchell Park was given to the city of Pana by John W. Kitchell and his wife Mary Little Kitchell in 1908. It is home to several unique and old features. The round Chautauqua Pavilion was built in 1911 and has attracted such speakers as William Jennings Bryan, WWI hero Sergeant York and Billy Sunday among others. The Schuyler Bridge was constructed entirely of concrete in 1910. The park's ornate main gate acted as the entrance booth for the Tri-County Fair which was held on park grounds from 1885 until it moved to its present fairgrounds in 1949. Part of the park's original horse track is still one of the main roads through the park. The story is that Frank James of the Missouri Gang was starter and timekeeper at the track in his later years, after he was pardoned by authorities.
Today the park is home to tennis courts, softball and baseball diamonds, a swimming pool, playgrounds and a picnic area. The park's auditorium is the result of a deluge, 6.5 inches of rain, that fell on the area in 1910. It was felt that if the pavilion were to survive adequate shelter would need to be provided. At the time of its construction the auditorium was called one of the most modern in the nation with its seating capacity of 3,500 and 35 X 45-foot (14 m) stage. The auditorium was renovated in 1955 through funding from the Pana Lions Club. New paint, a concrete floor and rewiring for the installation of 24 overhead lights were all included in the project. The city recently received a $200,000 grant to restore the auditorium to its original state, construction is expected to begin in spring of 2007.
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—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
“There has never been in history another such culture as the Western civilization M a culture which has practiced the belief that the physical and social environment of man is subject to rational manipulation and that history is subject to the will and action of man; whereas central to the traditional cultures of the rivals of Western civilization, those of Africa and Asia, is a belief that it is environment that dominates man.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)
“The thing that struck me forcefully was the feeling of great age about the place. Standing on that old parade ground, which is now a cricket field, I could feel the dead generations crowding me. Here was the oldest settlement of freedmen in the Western world, no doubt. Men who had thrown off the bands of slavery by their own courage and ingenuity. The courage and daring of the Maroons strike like a purple beam across the history of Jamaica.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)